The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order
Evoking the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's gripping drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler significantly older than his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is physical and passionate, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy rather than as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, teeming with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals hold fast to one another for fleeting joy.
"The city are filled with danger, yet they are the place where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and monetary insecurity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the criminal underworld are overshadowed by the fear of institutional observation and jail time, epitomized by the constant sight of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is particularly impactful as a keen observation of the disenfranchised individuals who have slipped through the gaps the established structure. The film stands as a moving look into making ends meet, found community, and the search for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
